These Lines

free verse

First draft, photo by Rachel B. Baxter

These lines aren’t tired,
but these eyes reading them are —
these pages aren’t outdated,
but my mindset is.
Ancient prayers and poems and spells
hold ancient wisdom, but
we turn off our minds,
repeat them like the buzz
of an ignored alarm clock,
paying no mind to the words,
only the comfort they bring,
warm sounds fill the house,
repetition creating heat.
These old books are a furnace,
my exhaustion, a cold winter night.